Rousseau'nun Genel İrade Kavramı Üzerine Bir İnceleme

Abstract

The focus of the current study is Rousseau’s concept of “general will”. In the first part of the study, the political theories of classical and modern periods will be discussed; in this section, it is aimed to show the conceptual disposition that shaped Rousseau’s theory and present the thoughts that he was in a polemical state. In the second part, the concept of the general will, one of the basic concepts of Rousseau’s theory, will be discussed together with other related concepts, and the differences, which we have identified, between the definition of the general will concept and its application, will be revealed. Finally, in the conclusion part, it will be discussed whether the concept of general will serves to establish the egalitarian and liberating political ground that Rousseau anticipated.